Breaching the Surface
by AWildeRomantic
Summary: The events in Beneath the Surface went a little differently, Therra and Jonah got a little closer, and now Sam and Jack find themselves facing the consequences...things that threaten their jobs and more importantly their relationship. SamJack
1. Jonah

A/N – After moping around with no inspiration whatsoever for three days, this idea hit me in the middle of the night when I woke up for a few seconds. Now I'm actually writing it at 11:00 pm while the rain and thunder sound noisily outside. Oh look, lightning to spark my creativity! 

For all this trouble I've gone through, and the fact that it's 90 degrees out in the middle of a late night thunderstorm, I think everyone should give me nice long reviews . They will be greatly appreciated.

* * *

Chapter 1: "Jonah"

I don't remember a time before the mines, really. I know there is something there, but I just can't find it. People tell me none of us remember. Now it's just working and steam and heat and food and…and Therra. She's always there with her wide intelligent eyes and eager smile that shines any time one of her ideas works. I don't remember meeting her, but I know she's been my friend for a long time. There's nothing I would trade her comforting presence for, nothing. There's nothing I wouldn't defend her against, either. Night sickness, the other men who I see looking at her…nothing I wouldn't protect her from.

And now Carlin is talking about this whole SG-1 business and Therra and I are forced to risk our rations every other night to meet with him. As if things weren't bad enough. I'm still not sure if I believe what Tor said, it all seems so ridiculous.

Therra and I are sitting off in some forgotten corner, now, neither of us having any desire to sleep, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Our backs are against one damp wall and a huge tank hides us from view. Therra's head rests on my shoulder. I like it when she does that, it reminds me that it is still possible to be human, even down here.

"You said you remember feelings," she says quietly after a while.

I nod slowly. "Yeah. If Tor was telling the truth…I don't know what we were when we were part of 'SG-1' but I know we were close, you and I."

Therra looks up at me. "That's good."

"Yeah." I watch her for a moment, neither of us saying anything. It's rare to have any time alone, or to find some spot where you won't be disturbed. That makes every moment we are alone all the more precious.

I think it's been ages since I last kissed a woman. With all this physical labor to tire me out, sex is usually something reserved only for dreams. But Therra's lips are so soft and warm and real…I pull her a little deeper into the alcove, a little closer to me. She doesn't protest as I find the closure of her tunic and slip it off over her shoulders so that I can kiss along her collarbone and the soft curves of her breasts.

Therra's running her fingers through my hair and letting out little moans that only increase the heat that's burning in my gut. We both smell like sweat and engines and steam, but I don't give a fuck right now, it's been so long since I last held a woman in my arms and Therra's so damn beautiful, even with her roughly cut hair and the dirt smudging her face.

_Carter…_

The name pops into my head as I gaze down at her. For a moment I'm so stunned by the randomness of it all that the only thing I seem capable of doing is staring.

"Jonah?" Her blue eyes are wide, obviously worried that she's done something wrong.

I lean down and kiss her again, reassuring, conveying. She pushes my shirt off and run her hands over my body, well muscled from years of working in the mines. Or at least, that's what I _think_ it's from.

It may have been years since I last had a woman, but I still remember what to do, still remember how to touch, how to love this beautiful person in my arms. And when I finally sink into her and the real passions start flowing I have to clamp one hand over Therra's mouth to keep her from crying out too loudly and giving us away.

I have to muffle my own cries in her shoulder as her legs wrap around my waist, pulling my body closer to hers as our hips work against each other, short thrusts growing faster, harder, deeper. A burst of air from somewhere suddenly blows over my arching back, cooling my skin. I can feel Therra clench around me.

"Ohhh Carter…._" _I'm glad my mouth is still pressed against her shoulder, because I don't know why I said that. I'm worried she would think I'm saying the name of some other woman, when I'm so sure that is her name that I'm saying. Maybe it's her last name. After all, I've only ever called her 'Therra'.

It's over too soon. Too soon is Therra pulling her tunic back on and re-fastening it, looking at me with soft eyes and her sweet smile that I soon cover with a kiss. Then its back to bed with us and when I dream it's not of puddles of shimmering water or of mining naked.

* * *

There's a commotion the next day. I round a bend into one of the larger open rooms to see that everyone has stopped what they're doing and is standing around open mouthed.

Therra's laying sprawled on her back, eyes closed and a thin trickle of blood running out of the corner of her mouth. Without thinking I'm rushing to her side, feeling for a pulse then trying to revive her. I look up to see Kegan standing there, her hand still balled into a fist and her face twisted in a sneer.

Therra's eyes open and she sits bolt up right, a moment later leaping to her feet. I stand as well, putting a hand on her arm.

"What happened?!"

Both women look at me and when Therra opens her mouth I can see the blood on her lips and teeth. But it's Kegan who speaks, her tone spiteful as ever.

"Little bitch thinks she's better than the rest of us. Don't you? Don't you, Therra?"

Therra shakes her head, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. "I don't…"

"Then why are you sucking up to Brenna every day?!" Kegan steps forward and I move protectively closer to Therra. This only causes Kegan to glare at me. "Stop protecting her, Jonah, you're almost as bad as she is!"

While I'm distracted by this last comment Kegan lunges forward and punches Therra again, causing her to stumble back. Then Tor appears out of no where with Carlin and they pull Kegan away to calm her down. People hurry back to their tasks and I pull Therra into my arms, trying to comfort her and wipe the blood away.

"What happened?" I ask soothingly.

Therra sniffs. "She just came at me…I don't know why…accused me of corrupting Carlin or something."

"You? Corrupting Carlin?" I raise my eyebrows and try to cheer Therra up. "I'm the only one you're corrupting, sweetheart."

Therra blinks at me and slowly wipes away some blood with her thumb.

"What?" I shrug. "It's a saying, isn't it?"

* * *

I wish that Kegan was the worst thing I had to worry about happening to Therra. It's hard, living here beneath the surface. The ratio of men to women is definitely not equal and since men are generally more suited to physical labor (don't let Therra hear me saying that, though, she'd argue otherwise) it seems like they're the ones that tend to be more plentiful. And not all of them are as nice as Carlin and myself. 

At night I don't worry. Therra huddles together with the other women and they do a good job of protecting themselves. It's during the day, when Therra goes off to one of the darker sectors to fix some machine that I feel the need to trail behind her and keep an eye on her. Too often have I seen girls come crawling out of the dark corners, looking broken after an encounter with one of the more forceful men.

I know Brenna tries to stop this, but she doesn't have eyes everywhere. It's what happens when people get thrown together in a pit.

I'm so tired. It's the end of a long day and I can feel the sweat pouring down my face. I'm sitting slumped against the wall with my food bowl in my hands, and I barely notice when Therra wanders by, a distracted look on her face.

Moments later I'm on my feet and following her. For a few minutes I'm thinking that she can fend for herself and all my worries were unwarranted. Then someone grabs her, a thick arm closing around her waist and a huge hand clamping down over her mouth.

I break into a run.

It's one of the men who has muscles to rival even Tor's. He has a hungry sort of animal look in his eyes as he swings Therra around and pushes her against the wall. She flails and tries to kick him.

"Hey!" I shout, coming to a halt. A look of relief sweeps over Therra's face.

The man turns to look at me, sneering. His eyes are small and beady, dark as the coal that some of us have to shovel.

"What?" he snarls, turning to face me but keeping one hand on Therra's chest, pinning her like a butterfly to the wall.

Pinning her like a butterfly? That's just an expression, I think.

"Let her go, she's mine." I reply calmly, catching the faint flash of fury in Therra's eyes. Therra belongs to no one.

The man turns around to look at Therra as though seeking confirmation. I take this opportunity and grab a shovel, smashing it into the back of his head. The great brute falls in a heap to the ground and I grab Therra, pulling her back to the others, pulling her back to safety.

We make love again that night, in the little alcove like last time. There's more passion this time, I can sense it in the way Therra rides me, biting her own tongue to keep from crying out and one of her slender, calloused hands pressed over my mouth. There's need here as well, need to know that we belong to each other and no one else can have us.

She comes with a stifled moan that only I can hear and that only I should ever hear.

* * *

The time it's taking us to remember whatever Carlin thinks we should be remembering is growing to be too long. Kegan doesn't give up, either, but this time Therra seems ready. This time I find them both on their feet, clawing and punching. When I pull Therra away I'm satisfied to see a scratch down Kegan's cheek.

"That's right, Jonah!" Kegan shouts. "Take her away. Take your little whore away! Watch out though, she might be sleeping with Brenna to try and get what she wants."

Therra wrenches free of my grasp and hurls herself at Kegan again. This time it's Carlin who steps in and pulls the girls apart, then to my surprise he slaps Therra across the face. Stunned, she steps back, shocked by his action rather than the pain.

"What was that?!" I roar, striding forward.

Carlin's eyes are wide. "I…I…" he's stammering. "I don't know…Therra, I didn't mean –"

"Don't apologize to her!" Kegan has his arm in a vise like grip. "Let's go, Carlin." Carlin gives me a meaningful look as he's dragged away and I know that he's still the same man. A little crazier, but still the same man.

* * *

I can't pin point the exact moment when I remembered who I really was. It was some time in Brenna's office after Tor…no, Teal'c…had been brought in. It all came back, a slow trickle at first like water seeping through a crack in a wall, and then suddenly a torrent of information to stack on top of Jonah's experiences. So many things were chasing themselves around in my head but I had pressing matters to deal with.

Like getting the hell back to the SGC.

Things went smoothly after Teal'c woke up. I know some of the people we've met in these past couple weeks will be sorry to see us go, even if they are getting a new home. Kegan isn't one of them. I didn't miss the look of contempt she shot Carter as she and her people stepped out of the gate and into the SGC.

Finally the mess is cleared up, our consciousnesses are restored, the people safely on their new homes, and Hammond calls for a debriefing. Perhaps it's just me being happy to be home, but I find myself up there ten minutes early.

Carter, of course, is already sitting a the table with a cup of coffee and her laptop, working on the mission report. I hope she's not putting in _everything_ that happened.

I clear my throat. "Carter."

"You're early, sir," she says, looking up at me.

"Yeah, I suppose that's ok, cus I think we should talk."

Her blue eyes are wide, obviously worried she's done something wrong. "What about?"

"I think you know what." I look down and try to concentrate on a small scuff on the surface of the table. Rising in my mind are images of her naked, her skin glowing with sweat and her eyes closed in silent rapture. Harder to suppress are the feelings that accompany the images.

"We weren't in our right minds, Colonel," she says quietly. "No one could say…" she's silent for a long moment before continuing. "No one needs to know."

But there's something that _I_ need to know. Something that's kept me awake at night ever since we got back. "Carter…"

"What, sir?"

"Was that just Therra, then, doing that?"

Carter looks at me, her eyes soft. For a brief moment she smiles, a secret, sweet smile that's all for me. Then Hammond and the others walk in and the smile is gone.


	2. Carter

A/N – Yay! Thanks to everyone for the reviews! They were all very encouraging, as usual. Now its 9:30 in the morning, bright, sunny, and still hot. But I saved the energy from the storm last night and am ready to go with the next chapter!

* * *

Chapter 2: Carter

Things are different now, I can feel it in the air between us when we pass in the hall or sit for a briefing. He seems so much more hesitant when he looks at me, more careful when he speaks with me. Almost as if he's afraid of giving something away.

I'm sitting in my lab. It's late. So late that I find myself yawning every two minutes but I don't feel like going home or heading to my on base quarters. It's not about the work, I finished that hours ago. I just feel safe here, my own little private space in the highly secure fortress of the SGC.

My head is resting in my arms and I jump when someone touches my shoulder. Raising my head I hope for a brief moment that it might be him, come to talk to me at last. But it's only Daniel, his jacket slung over one arm and a concerned look on his face.

"Sam, you ok? Shouldn't you be heading home?"

I shake my head. "I've still got some more diagnostics I have to run…"

"Sam." A faint crease forms between Daniel's eyebrows. I let out a sigh.

It's been nearly two weeks since we got back. It doesn't feel like that long, even though nothing interesting has happened. But that's what it's been. And everyone is still worried about what happened to us on that planet. Not the colonel and me specifically, just SG-1 in general. People seem to care about us.

"Daniel, just go home. I'm fine."

Daniel suddenly looks worried. "Are you mad at me?"

"Mad at you?" I stare up at him in disbelief. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"I don't know, for something I did back there. Like when I hit you." Daniel shrugs listlessly.

I let out a long, tired, frustrated sigh. "Daniel, none of us were responsible for what we did back there, we weren't ourselves." Or were we? It sure as hell seemed to me that we were ourselves, just with different memories.

"Maybe you need to take that advice."

"What?" I squint. It's too late for this. I'm too tired to philosophically finagle the details of what happened and why. But I know Daniel's going to keep pushing it whether I want to talk or not.

"You can stop hiding it, Sam, I know you did something back there," Daniel is leaning on the table and trying to look me in the eye, but I turn away. "I know you did something that you're not happy about. But whatever it was…it wasn't your fault, Sam. It doesn't matter anymore, no one knows you did it, no one blames you."

He doesn't know what it is. He can't know what it is otherwise he wouldn't be talking this casually about it. I ignore him, hoping he'll go away. Eventually he does, and I'm alone again.

* * *

The next few weeks pass and I get hardly a chance to think about what happened. There's the whole catastrophe with Martin Lloyd that's half amusing and half frustrating, as well as the usual goings on at the SGC.

Somehow a virus got into our computer systems. I swear I'm going to kill whoever got it past the filters, because it took me a whole week to completely root it out.

Now it's been a month since we recovered our true memories, and Colonel O'Neill still isn't his normal self. At least…around me he isn't. I don't think Teal'c and Daniel have noticed anything and if they have they haven't mentioned it.

I know something must be up when Hammond gives us a few days off and the colonel doesn't ask me once to go fishing with him. He asks Daniel and Teal'c (both decline) but not me. That's a massive blow, even though I would have refused him anyway. Or would I? Maybe now I would have taken him up on the offer, now that things have actually happened between us…Though I know that's why he didn't ask me. He's afraid.

So while he's up enjoying the solitude of his cabin, I find myself toting heavy boxes around for Janet. Daniel snuck off to some conference somewhere, but Teal'c and I got roped into moving Janet's medical records into the new storage room down the hall. She's too busy dealing with an SG team that came in with nasty injuries.

Carrying two boxes out of the infirmary I feel a little lightheaded. I've stripped down to just my black tank top and fatigues, but I still feel warm. I know Janet would probably tell me to take a break, but I just want to get this done. She's saved my life so many times, after all, the least I can do is shift a few boxes for her.

My visions swims. The boxes slip out of my arms and suddenly the next thing I know I'm laying on a bed in the infirmary with Teal'c staring down at me.

"DoctorFraiser, she is conscious."

Janet hurries over, putting a hand to my forehead and smiling. "Sam? Honey, how are you feeling?"

"Woozy." I try to sit up, but the petite doctor puts a firm hand on my shoulder, pushing me back down. "What happened?"

"You passed out," Janet replies. It's only now that I realize I'm hooked up to an IV and EKG machine. I feel slightly annoyed, it isn't that big of a deal, is it? Janet hands me a cup of water. "You overworked yourself, I think."

"I wasn't working _that_ hard!" I complain, finally managing to sit up.

"Indeed I have witnessed MajorCarter bearing heavier burdens over greater distances," Teal'c offers. He's standing by my bedside with his hands behind his back, ever the guard.

"I know, that's what's worrying me," Janet says, frowning slightly. "Have you been feeling sick at all?" She's pulled out her clipboard and is jotting something down.

I shake my head. "Not really…I just started feeling dizzy while carrying the boxes around."

"When was your last period?"

I think. And think. "Uhmm…"

Janet raises her eyes slowly from the paper. "Sam?"

"Beginning of last month? No…It was before we got our memories stamped."

"Ok," Janet's speaking calmly as she sets aside her clipboard. "I'm going to run a couple tests, you just sit back and relax, Sam. Teal'c, why don't you stay with her if you don't have anything else going on…"

Teal'c bows and takes a seat, turning to look at me with his usual expression. He's never a great conversationalist, so I know it's going to be a long hour waiting for Janet to run her little tests.

She returns finally and politely asks Teal'c to leave, then closes the privacy curtain around my bed.

Oh…crap…

"Well, I've got the test results back," she's using her doctor tone and sits down on the edge of my bed.

"So what's wrong with me?" I make a valiant attempt to dispel the nervous little niggling sensation in my stomach. "Do I have an alien parasite in me? Am I dying?"

Janet smiles. "No, it's not _that_ bad. But when you said you haven't had your period recently I thought maybe…"

"I'm pregnant, aren't I?"

Janet nods, still smiling. "About a month. Congratulations, Sam."

Why does she even bother? She knows this wasn't intentional. Stunned, I lean back against the pillows. I barely hear Janet as she talks about taking me off active duty. Does it even matter?

Janet looks at me, surprised, and I realize I said it out loud. "Yes it does matter!" the doctor's eyes are wide as she slips off the bed to feel my forehead for the millionth time. "Even if you're not planning on keeping the baby, Sam, your body still can't handle the rigors of being out in the field. You need to rest."

"I'm hungry." I don't want to stay here. I want to be back in my lab where it's dark and safe and the only things around me are computers.

"I'll have a nurse bring some food down for you."

"I'll get it myself." I try to get up, but Janet won't let me.

"I'll have a nurse bring it down for you." She says a little more forcefully.

I give up and slump back into the bed as Janet pushes the curtains back and then hurries off to find a nurse to get me my lunch.

My eyes close. I seek something, anything to offer me a bit of comfort. All I get is him…His mouth on my skin, his hands on my body, his cock inside of me. A tremor runs through me and I sit up, kneading the heels of my palms into my eyes, trying to drive the images and feelings away. But they won't go and all too soon am I struck with the reality of the baby growing within me. It's real, it's here, and it is unquestionably his.

What's a girl to do?

* * *

Janet finally lets me out of the infirmary. I retreat to my hiding place, refusing to talk to anyone. Daniel gets back from his conference and is bubbling over with talk about the people he met. I say nothing about how I am. So far Janet's the only one who knows, though she's insisting that I'll have to tell Hammond eventually.

When I'm ready.

I walk into the commissary one night and see Colonel O'Neill sitting at our usual table. He waves me over when I get my tray, but things are still not quite right between us.

"How was your break, Carter?" he asks. "Please tell me you didn't spend the entire time holed up in your lab."

"I helped Janet out a little bit."

"Good."

"How was the fishing, sir?" I can't stop the spiteful tone that somehow wriggles its way into my words.

"Same as usual," he raises an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

It pops out before I have a chance to stop it. "You asked Daniel and Teal'c to go with you."

"I…" Jack's voice trails off. "Carter, you always flat out refuse me, I just didn't think there was much point…"

"I might have said yes." Sullenly I poke at my salad. A quick glance up shows me he's still staring at me disbelievingly. This isn't why I'm mad at him. This is just a cover story, but I don't think he realizes it.

"I'm sorry, Carter, I just thought…you had stuff you were working on…"

I shake my head, then stand up with my tray.

"Hey, Carter!"

But I don't turn around. I just bus the tray and walk out, leaving my CO staring after me.

I know the reason that he didn't ask me to go with him has nothing to do with me having work or him not thinking I'd say yes. He's afraid to be alone with me, afraid of what he'll do. Maybe if I tell him the real reason I'm angry he won't be afraid anymore…


	3. Colonel O'Neill

A/N – Thanks again for all the wonderful comments! In answer to the question posed by **stusue**, I'll try to explain it a little in the story, but Janet's just giving Sam a while to digest the information. She also probably has an idea that Jack's the baby's daddy, so she wants Sam to have a little chance at least to tell him ;)

* * *

Chapter 3: Colonel O'Neill

Something's wrong with Carter. Something is really, seriously wrong with her. I don't understand why she got so upset over the whole fishing thing; it's not like she's ever shown any interest in coming along. It's not like my reason for not inviting her wasn't legitimate. We both know that us being alone in the wild north woods probably isn't a good idea.

But why'd she react like that? I watch her leave the commissary and I'm almost considering going after her, but common sense holds me back. I don't want to get in a fight with her.

After I finish eating I wander around the base for a while, trying to find someone to bother. I really need to get my mind off things, get my mind off Carter. Every time I think about her I get this sort of sick feeling in my stomach and it's not because I regret what happened, it's because I'm worried she did.

God, that all was a month ago, but it doesn't seem that long.

The images are still fresh in my mind, in my dreams, before my eyes when she walks in the room. It takes all my control and self-restraint just to remain professional. But I do it. I do it for her, for the team, for myself. I'm too old to be getting tangled up in stuff like this. Too old.

Too old for her? I'd rather not think that.

So I lay it on, thick as ever, the cheerful and annoying O'Neill habits that I know amuse half the folks here and drive the other half crazy. Anything to keep Hammond from noticing the looks I can't help but shoot my second in command, anything to keep Danny and T from noticing that something's changed in our delicate little group infrastructure.

I'm starting to think my problem is that I haven't talked to anyone about this, not even Carter. I know Doc Fraiser would probably say that it's not good to keep things bottled up inside you for too long.

I find my way to Danny's office, but he's not in there. He's probably off somewhere with one of the SG teams translating some scribbles on a wall.

I can't talk to Carter yet, it's too soon.

Teal'c is just coming out of his quarters when I find him.

"Hey, T, what's up?"

The Jaffa glances warily upward. "The ceiling, O'Neill."

"Good one." I grin and playfully punch him in the arm, which ends up causing me more pain than him.

"Is there something I may assist you with, O'Neill?" Teal'c asks.

"I just needed somebody to bug. Danny's off somewhere and Carter's in a bad mood." We fall in to step together, heading towards the exercise room.

"Is Major Carter still feeling unwell?"

"Unwell?" I frown. "What do you mean?"

"She lost consciousness while attempting to move containers for DoctorFraiser."

Annoyance sweeps through me at this. Why didn't anyone say anything?! "She didn't say…"

Teal'c merely inclines his head. We enter the exercise room and I sit down on one of the benches, not really feeling up to joining Teal'c as he lifts weights. For a few minutes I watch him silently, then I sigh.

"T, have you ever done something you've regretted, only you haven't been able to work up the nerve to talk to anyone about it?"

"No."

Here we go. "Well, could you just _pretend_ for a minute that you have?"

"O'Neill, what have you done that you regret?"

I knit my fingers together, wondering blandly if Teal'c is the right person to talk to about this. Then I realize that I'd trust him above any others with a secret, so I suppose it's full tilt ahead.

"Well, lets just say that a certain thing happened between me and this other person," I say, trying to make this as general as possible. "And now I think that this other person isn't too happy about it, only it's not something that's comfortably talked about."

"Are you referring to yourself and MajorCarter?"

"Yeah…No! I mean…why do you -?"

"Recently I have observed the two of you interacting far less often than in the past."

So I _haven't_ been doing a good job of hiding it. I stare down, suddenly fascinated by my shoes. I know Teal'c is watching me, I can feel his steady gaze boring through my skull as if he's trying to see what's going on inside my head. Not much worth seeing, I want to tell him.

"What event transpired between you and MajorCarter?" his tone is quiet, almost gentle by his usual standards.

I shake my head, wrinkling my nose and inhaling sharply. "Just…something…"

"Perhaps it is she that you should speak with, O'Neill."

"Yeah, but…" I start to worm my way out of it. I want to talk to Carter, I really do. But I'm afraid to. "She's in a bad mood. I don't think it's a good idea right now."

Teal'c arches his eyebrow, giving me a stern look. I wonder if part of a Jaffa's training is to learn how to convey a command through a simple eyebrow movement.

* * *

Carter is exactly where I thought she'd be, in her lab, typing away at her computer. Watching her silently from the doorway I see the same gleam of concentration in her eyes that Therra so often had.

Therra. Therra and Jonah. They're two completely different people, now, with completely different lives from Carter and me. As we were leaving Brenna's office that one last time, I saw Therra die in Carter's eyes when I called her 'Major'. Maybe not die, but at least go into hiding. But is it Therra I want to talk to, or Carter?

She looks up, surprise in her gaze for a moment before the contempt takes over.

"Hey." I manage feebly as I step into the lab.

She looks away. "What do you need, sir?"

"A few words." I pull up a chair and sit down. Carter lets out a sigh and pushes her work aside. When I'm sure I have her attention I ask quietly, "why are you mad at me? Is it really because of the fishing, or is it because of other things?"

She tilts her chin up and away, her eyes slowly closing then opening again. "Other things."

"God…" that's what I _knew_ was true, that's what I was afraid was true. "Carter, I'm sorry, I never meant for any of that to happen…if you want to press charges…"

"Press charges?!" When I look up at her I'm surprised to see blue flames blazing in her eyes. "You're talking about pressing charges and you don't even know the half of it!"

This takes me even more by surprise. Calm, cool and collected Samantha Carter losing her temper at a superior officer. Something is going on here and obviously she's right; I don't know the half of it.

"Off the record, this isn't just about the sex, is it?"

She snorts. "No. Obviously that's not what it is. If it was so uncomplicated as that I would just say 'thanks for the fuck, sir, it was nice' and be done with it."

"Look," I make a vain attempt to lighten the mood. "Just because my reproductive organs are on the outside means you're gonna have to spell out what you're talking about."

"I suppose you heard that I passed out while moving stuff for Janet," she's quiet again, looking down at her hands which are absently twirling a piece of wire.

"Yeah, Teal'c told me."

"Well, Janet looked into why that happened…"

"Did she find anything?"

Sam looks up at me and then the whole bottom seems to drop out of my world. "I'm pregnant."

* * *

It wasn't something that had once occurred to me. Hadn't occurred to Jonah either, not that there really was such a thing as 'safe sex' down there. Him and Therra didn't have too many options and thinking back I don't really think Jonah even knew there _were_ options.

Carter's watching me, her blue eyes wide, obviously worried she's done something wrong. But it isn't her fault, I would never blame her for this.

No, the sudden thick feeling in my throat is my own fault. I search frantically for something to say. "It…it's mine?"

"Of course it's yours!" She looks at me exasperatedly. "You think I'd be telling you if it wasn't? Sir…" the last word comes out as a bit of whine, but I notice her face pale slightly.

"Carter, you ok?"

"I'm fine," she mumbles, swallowing a couple times.

"Look…" I reach out to touch her arm. "We'll get through this."

Court martials, transfers, Jacob kicking my ass…all of it seems to swim around in my head. I try to keep a calm exterior while my insides churn. Carter jerks away from my touch.

"Sir…I think I need some time alone."

She just told me that she's pregnant with my child and here she is still calling me 'sir'.

"Ok." Feeling numb, I stand up and head out into the hall for more aimless wandering. This hope is quickly overruled however when an airman finds me and tells me that Hammond needs me in his office. Wonderful, what could possibly go wrong now?

But the general doesn't look angry or worried when I enter, he just motions for me to take a seat then folds his hands the way he does when he's relaying information.

"I've just spoken with Dr. Fraiser, I suppose you've been informed of Major Carter's condition?"

Her condition. Wow. "Yes, sir, I just talked to her."

"Well then, I'm sure you'll understand that Dr. Fraiser thinks its best if Major Carter is taken off active duty," Hammond's saying this all so calmly, and I have to remind myself that he doesn't know who the father is. He just thinks Carter's pregnant. "I'll give you some personnel files to look over if you want to get a temporary replacement for her."

"No offence, sir, but I don't think anyone here _could_ replace her. Even temporarily." Now if I could only say something like that when Carter was there to actually hear it…

The general tilts his head to one slide slightly and narrows his eyes. "Jack, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I reply. "I think I'm just a little out of it today…sir…"

Hammond nods, pushing the personnel files in my direction along with a meaningful look. I pick them up, hefting them slightly, then walk out of the office.

Finding some forgotten corner of the base to plop myself down in, I know that I'm not going to get any work done. I close my eyes, letting my mind wander, even allowing a couple daydreams to slip in.

Carter's pregnant…She's pregnant with _my_ kid…

Someone's first reaction to this might be that there's something seriously wrong here, and yeah, she's my 2IC so obviously there's a problem. But as Carter proves time and time again, problems most often have solutions.

Images of my life with Charlie and Sara, now just a shadow, float through my mind. Images of Sara making Charlie's lunch and me waiting with him at the bus stop, Sara helping him with his homework when he gets home…Only slowly it's not Sara and Charlie it's….it's Sam. It's Sam and a little boy with brown hair and his mother's bright blue eyes. Her smile too. Her shining, beautiful smile.

Inexplicably I feel a comforting sensation in my heart. Usually the thought of 'family' makes me get cold all over, but for once, when I'm thinking of a family with Sam, it seems encouraging.

Sighing a little I pick up the stack of personnel files. Maybe Carter can give me a hand with them, and maybe I can actually have a good little talk with Sam.


	4. Sam

Chapter 4: Sam

I look up, surprised when Colonel O'Neill walks back into my lab. He looks a little less shocked than before, but that doesn't mean I really want to see him right now.

"Sir, I'm busy."

"Yeah, and you're also pregnant."

I want to slap him, but he is my superior officer and just because I'm going to have his baby doesn't change the fact that I'd get court martialled for attacking him. I settle instead for one of my deadpan glares that usually sends him scampering off. This time, he sits down.

"Look…we need to talk." He has a stack of some papers which he sets on the lab table.

I sigh heavily as an iron hand twists my guts around unpleasantly. I've heard that tone of voice before. That 'I love you, but…' tone of voice. Ultimately, that 'I don't think we should see each other' tone of voice. And then I glance at the papers and see that they're personnel files of some of the best officers at the SGC.

"Picking out a new team already?" I say offhandedly, as though it doesn't really matter, even though it does. "Or are those for me?"

He stares at me, confused. "Temporary replacement for you, actually, while you're off on maternity leave." His deep brown eyes widen slightly as he raises his eyebrows. "Why would I be picking out a new team?" A pause. "Are you still mad at me?"

I shake my head slowly.

"Do you think I don't care?" his voice is soft and when I turn to look at him I'm met with that particular gaze that seems to melt my insides and set them on fire. And _that_ I know has absolutely nothing to do with being pregnant. Nope. Not at all.

"I don't know, it's not like our jobs let us talk about this sort of thing."

He sighs and nods. "Do you think we should tell Hammond?"

"That depends on a lot of things." I look away from him and suddenly the wonderful melted sensation turns to one of ice. Almost unconsciously I put my hand to my stomach like I'm asking my unborn child…_our_ unborn child…for advice. "Like what you're planning to do about this."

"What I'm planning to do…"

The way he lets the statement drift at the end, hang in space with no real promise of a finish tells me that he hasn't really thought about this. Maybe he's just spent this time assuring himself that this is real, or convincing himself that it isn't. I'm not sure. I'm not sure what I've been trying to do either. Half the time I feel more alive than ever because I know this is actually happening, and the other half I'm expecting to wake up from this dream.

"What do you want me to do?" He turns it back around on me.

I shrug, folding my arms over my chest. "I can't ask you to do anything."

"But what if…what if you didn't have to ask? What if I would do it all just because I care about you?"

"Then I'd feel guilty for making you feel obligated, sir."

He gives me a hard look. "Sam."

"Jack." I look back at him.

"I'm not going to do this because I feel obligated," he's on his feet now, not threatening but I can still hear the annoyed tone in his voice. "Damn it, I'd do it because I love you."

That caught me off guard. I stare at the desk, pursing my lips and praying silently that the burning in my eyes isn't the onset of tears. The last thing I need to do is start crying.

"Sam? Did you hear me?" I almost jump when he touches my chin, gently turning my face towards him. Any hint of annoyance in his voice is gone and his eyes are once again soft. "I said I'd do this because I love you."

"I heard you," is my quiet reply. His hand cups my cheek and I turn my face to nuzzle his palm for a second before I realize what I'm doing and push his hand away. "But the real question is do you mean it."

"Of course I mean it." He's working hard to not get angry, I can tell. "Why would I say something like that if I didn't mean it?"

"People have." I can see his hand creeping towards mine over the surface of the lab table, but I pretend not to notice. "Plenty of guys have said they loved me and are gone a couple weeks later."

"And am I _anything_ like those guys?" his fingers suddenly close around mine. Looking up I see that he's scooted a little closer to me.

I shake my head. "No." After a moment of careful thought I add, "because…I never loved any of them back."

"And me?"

We're practically nose to nose now and before I can stop it my tongue darts out to wet my lips. "And you…I've always loved you."

He looks disbelieving. "Always?"

"Ok, maybe not the first time we met…" I laugh nervously, wondering why he's not closing the remaining distance between us. Then I remember the security camera, and the fact that he's still my CO and that Hammond doesn't even know about…

"So," Jack is leaning away from me now. "You think we should tell Hammond?"

I swear that man can read my mind. "I suppose we'll have to if you think that we're going to…"

"Have a lasting relationship?"

Hearing him say it sounds so strange, but so wonderful all the same.

* * *

I'm sitting in a café with Janet one morning when we don't have to be in to work until later. The doctor is all bright eyed and bushy tailed and she hasn't even had her first cup of coffee yet. I take a bite of my croissant and chew it thoughtfully.

"Ok, so are you going to let me in on the big mystery?" she asks.

I blink. "What mystery?"

"The mystery that's been keeping me awake the past couple nights; who's the father?"

Of course she wouldn't ask me that the million times we see each other on base, when she's still in her Dr. Fraiser mode and there are too many people watching. Of course she would wait until I'm just trying to enjoy a peaceful morning until I have to go into work and face said father and said father's commanding officer.

"It's really that big of a mystery?"

Janet just bats her eyes at me and takes a sip of coffee.

"Ok, think about this logically, Janet," I lean forward and drop my voice, like I'm afraid that the man in the business suit at the table behind us might work for the NID and would use this information to incriminate me. "I'm not seeing anyone right now, if I was, you'd know about it, right?"

"Right," she nods, still looking as ignorant as ever.

"Well, who cares about me more than they're supposed to? Who claimed that he'd rather die than lose me?"

I can see the light bulb snap on in her head as her dark eyes widen. "What…Sam when did this happen?"

"When we had our memories stamped." I keep using that as an excuse, to myself more than others, but I still keep using it as an excuse and I know I shouldn't. Therra wasn't that different from me and she certainly had some idea that there was some reason why she shouldn't have sex with Jonah, but oh, they did love each other…

"You've certainly got yourself in a mess now, Sam." Ok, maybe I was wrong about her being fully bright eyed and bushy tailed. This definitely is Janet talking and not Dr. Fraiser. Dr. Fraiser would probably be lecturing me about why this was bad and what a huge mistake I made.

"Colonel O'Neill and I have talked about it and roughly planned what we're going to do."

"And that is…?"

"We're going to tell Hammond."

Janet just stares at me for a moment, and I can tell she's deciding if I'm making a wise decision or not. "And you and the colonel? How are things between you two?"

I can feel myself going misty eyed. "He said he loves me, Janet. He really means it."

* * *

Jack and I talk again about our plans, but decide to wait to hear what Hammond has to say before one of us makes the choice to give up SG-1 for good. I was paralyzed momentarily when Jack said that he'd give it all up for me, but I stopped him when he went off on a random tangent about staying home to take care of the baby.

I did, however, manage to cut a deal with him. He tells Hammond, and I have to face my father. Which of these two is the easier task, I have no idea.

So that's why I'm sitting on my front porch one sunny morning a couple days after my talk with Janet, sipping lemonade and trying to explain to my father that I'm pregnant. My father who has an alien symbiot in his head. You'd think that would make things easier, but it doesn't. Especially with Selmak constantly putting his two cents worth in.

"So, Sam, what did you need to talk to me about?" Dad knows that I didn't just ask him to stop by so we could drink lemonade on my front porch.

I set my glass down. This really shouldn't be too hard. I'm a grown woman now, not a teenager so I have every right to have a baby if I want to and Dad can't tell me otherwise…

"Dad, I'm pregnant." I say it fast, just to get it out. Then Dad's staring at me with one of those 'Are you sure that's a good thing?' looks.

"Congratulations, who's the father?"

Could he at least make an _attempt_ to sound happy?

"I don't really know if I should tell you." Even though Jack and I agreed we would tell him.

"Why not? You think I would go find him and beat him up or something?" There's a twinkle of humor in my dad's eyes and that makes me relax a little.

"You wouldn't have to go far to find him," I reply, steeling myself to tell him. "It's…er…Colonel O'Neill."

"Jack O'Neill?!" Any trace of humor has left my dad's eyes now. "Jack O'Neill got you pregnant?"

Way to go, Dad, you have successfully made me feel like a teenager again. Well too bad because I'm old enough to decide who I can have sex with, even if that person is my commanding officer. I wonder what he would have done if I'd told him Teal'c or Daniel was the father…Or Janet…oh the look on his face would have been priceless…

"Dad…we didn't do it on purpose," Here I am, retreating to my ready-made excuse. "It happened when we had our memories stamped."

Dad raises an eyebrow at me. "So you're saying this has absolutely nothing to do with your personal feelings for him?"

"I didn't say that…" I shake my head. "Look, Dad, Jack and I have talked about this. We know what we're going to do and he's not just going to make me go through this alone."

"Well that's good." Dad still doesn't sound convinced.

"Dad…he loves me."

Something changes in Dad's expression then, and the corners of his mouth even turn up in the slightest of smiles. "I know he does, kiddo, I just-"

"Don't say you just want to see me be happy."

"Well I do! And you have so many opportunities open to you…"

"And this is just another one." I lean over and wrap my arms around him. "Dad, I _will_ be happy. I've got a man who loves me and I'm going to have a baby…how could I not?"

Dad sighs, patting my back. "But all your work?"

"Dad, I can still do it." I can tell his resolve is crumbling and I crack him a grin as I lean back. "Besides, don't tell me that you don't want another grandchild…"

Dad fakes a look of mock-horror. "Not if it's going to turn out like Jack O'Neill!"

"Dad!" I give his shoulder a little push. "Are you suggesting that I have a bad taste in men?"

"That is what Jacob is suggesting," Selmak rumbles suddenly. "I, however, fully approve. Jack O'Neill is an honorable man fully worthy of your affection."

"Thank you!" I cry, laughing at the expression on my father's face when he regains control.


	5. Jack

Chapter 5: Jack

I know Carter's off talking to dear old dad, so now it's my time to step up and take responsibility for once. Hammond is in his office when I get there, and he looks only slightly surprised to see me.

"Colonel, please, sit down."

I sit, still running over what I'm going to say to him, sill figuring out how to say that I fucked up and actually don't feel too guilty about it. Let's see…I don't really think 'Sir, the baby is mine 'cus I totally just screwed the world's leading expert in theoretical astrophysics' is really going to cut it. And besides, Hammond is getting impatient.

"Sir, I came to talk to you about Major Carter."

"Aren't you having any luck finding that temporary replacement?" Hammond asks.

"Oh no, I've found quite a few suitable people that I'm considering…" _Stop beating around the bush, Jack…. _"Actually I wanted to talk about Carter's baby. The father of the baby, to be specific."

Hammond looks at me curiously. "If you're expecting me to tell you who it is, Colonel, I'm afraid you're out of luck. Major Carter hasn't breathed a word."

"Actually I'm here to tell _you_ who it is, sir."

"Oh?" Hammond raises his eyebrow.

"It's me."

Well that was undramatic.

"Very funny, Jack."

Blink. "Sir? I'm not kidding."

"Jack, you're her commanding officer…" in the time it takes him to say that simple sentence, I can see it dawn on Hammond's face that I'm really not joking. "You really aren't joking, are you?"

"Would I joke about something like this?"

I know he's thinking that I just might, but I'm giving him my best serious look and I think it's getting through to him. "Jack…"

"Look, sir, I know that what we did was a mistake. But if its any consolation to you we weren't in our right minds when we did it."

Hammond looks horrified. "No, that's not any consolation whatsoever! You do know that now you've told me I technically am supposed to report this?"

"I didn't mean we were drunk, sir, I meant it happened when we had our memories stamped."

"Oh."

"Yeah, so…" I take a deep breath. "But, I want to take responsibility for this. Not to mention I care about Sam and I wouldn't just ditch her, so…I think I may actually try the whole retiring thing once the baby's born."

I wait a moment, giving this a chance to sink in with Hammond. He sighs, unclasps his hands, folds them again, then looks back up with me. "You're really willing to do that? To face whatever this will bring?"

"For Sam?" The words flow so easily because I've said them so many times before in my head. "For Sam I'd do anything."

* * *

"So you told him?" We both say it simultaneously as I enter her lab. Her eyes are wide, but she doesn't look upset so I'm guessing that the whole thing with her dad went ok.

"Yeah, Hammond was surprised, but he wasn't mad or anything."

Sam nods. "My dad was surprised too."

"Angry?"

"He wants to skin you alive, but other than that…" She's giving me a cheeky grin so I walk over and playfully put her in a headlock so I can ruffle her hair. She laughs. "Jaaaccck-!"

"Sorry." I grin as I step back. Then for a moment we just stare at each other. Quietly I ask, "is this really happening?"

Sam nods. "Yeah. It's surprising, I know. And there's so much that we have to plan, like where we're going to live and if we actually want to be a real family or if you just-"

"We're going to be ok," I promise, my hands going to her shoulders and squeezing gently. "We'll work this out. Here, I'll even make it simple for you. I'll sell my place, cus yours is nicer, and I'll move in with you. While you're on maternity leave I'll stay on SG-1 and you can do whatever they need you for on base. And then after that if you want to go back to SG-1 I'll retire so I can stay home with the baby."

"It's not that simple." She says remorsefully.

I try to think of a way to make her believe this will work out ok in the end. "Will you marry me?"

Sam blinks, several long, slow blinks. The way she does when I say something either really stupid or really intelligent during one of her lectures. Oh boy.

"Marry you?" her voice is quiet. "What…why…" I don't think she's asking _why_ I want to marry her, but I give her a reason anyway.

"I love you."

And then her face breaks into one of those huge Samantha Carter smiles that is so horribly contagious that I find myself biting my lip just to keep from busting out in a grin myself.

"You're serious?" she asks, still smiling.

I nod, reaching out to take her hands in mine. "Yeah, I don't have a ring or anything to give you, but…seeing as we're going to have a baby and live together and everything…"

The door slides open, interrupting our moment as Daniel comes walking in, completely oblivious as usual. "Hey, Sam I got those papers you needed." He looks up and notices me holding Sam's hands. "Oh…sorry…did I…?"

"No, it's fine, Danny-boy." I release Sam's hands, waving my own dismissively. Daniel sets a stack of papers down on Sam's desk, then looks at us curiously. I look at Sam. We agree. "Danny, get T in here, cus we've got some news to share with you two…"

* * *

"You know," I say, carefully painting along the line between wall and ceiling. "I can't help but feel…nervous about all this."

Sam, removing the painter's tape from the edge of the window, looks up to where I'm standing on a ladder. "But it's the good sort of nervous, right? The excited type?"

I bite my lip. "Mostly."

"Mostly?"

I turn and look down at her. She's got the most adorable expression on her face, though I don't think she's doing it on purpose. My eyes travel down to the slight swell of her stomach, barely bulging out the dark red material of her shirt. All in all, she looks positively gorgeous. I smile reassuringly, climbing down the ladder and sweeping her into my arms.

"There's just a tiny part of me that's worried that I'm going to screw this up." I confess, kissing her lightly on the forehead.

Sam sighs and laughs quietly. "Remember what you've been telling me? Everything's going to be fine."

"I know." I smile, then we both step back to admire our work. The walls of the nursery are freshly painted, the whole room looking clean and ready for us to start furnishing. I feel very proud knowing that I haven't lost the knack for things like this. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." Sam leans against me. "No morning sickness today."

"That's good." I put a hand under her chin, tipping her face up so I can plant a gentle kiss on her lips before we head into the living room and sit on the couch.

I pull Sam close to me, my hand slipping under her shirt to rest on her stomach where our baby is growing. Sam rests her head on my shoulder, covering my hand with hers. I can see that she's positively glowing.

It's strange to think that I've done this before. The experience feels so new, this love, this desire to protect the woman in my arms and love her more than humanly possible. It seems like Sara and Charlie have become nothing more than a distant shadow in my mind. They'll never leave, but I've got so much more to think about now.

Sam makes a groaning noise. "Forget what I said about not feeling sick today…"

"Do you need me to get you anything?" I'm half ready to get up. "You probably shouldn't have been painting with me today…"

"Oh, be quiet!" Sam slaps at my arm. "This is perfectly…" She makes a face, pursing her lips and swallowing thickly. "…perfectly natural. A glass of water would be nice, though."

I get up and dash into the kitchen. Oh yeah. I remember how to do this.

* * *

Over the next couple months I begin to realize just how much SG-1 (and of course I'm including Janet and Cassie on that when I say SG-1) is a family. Even when I'm away on an off-world mission, or have to go chasing down NID agents in D.C. , I know that someone's going to be with Sam. Daniel and Teal'c are always ready to lend a helping hand, not that I'm surprised or anything.

I get home one day and see her sitting on the couch with her hands on her stomach and her eyes closed. For a split second I think something's wrong and I hurry over, then her eyes open and she grins at me. Taking my wrist, she pulls my hand down to rest on her stomach. I feel nothing different for a minute, then I feel the faint pressure against my palm.

"Did you feel that?" Sam asks quietly, still beaming.

"Yeah, I felt it." I lean over and kiss her passionately before pulling her into my arms, something that has to be done at a slightly odd angle due to her belly.

"I was just standing in the bedroom thinking how fat I look – "

"You're not fat!" I interrupt and Sam huffs loudly.

"Am too. Anyway, I was standing there and I could feel it kicking. It was…weird. But in a good way." She laughs. "Like going through the Stargate for the first time. Astronomical."

I roll my eyes, gently rubbing my hand over her stomach. "Right."

"So Janet thinks it's going to be pre-mature."

"Why?" A sense of alarm shoots through me; I just want this to go smoothly with no hitches or complications.

"Because I'm so _big_." She deliberately avoids saying 'fat'. "She says the baby's growing fast."

"But every things going ok, isn't it?"

"It's going perfectly."

I sigh. "Maybe Janet should check you out, just in case. You know, a little more in depth than usual."

"She said everything's fine, Jack," Sam looks up at me, frowning slightly. "But I can have her do another ultrasound or whatever if it'll make you feel better."

I nod and kiss the top of her head, my arms tightening around her.

* * *

"Jack? What…what's wrong?" Daniel gives me a quizzical look as he walks into the infirmary. I'm sitting on the end of one of the beds and twiddling my thumbs.

"Oh, Sam had to get some tests done." I blink, looking Daniel over for any signs of injury. "What're you here for?"

"Uhhm…" he looks towards Doc Fraiser's office, then back at me. "I was looking for Janet, but seeing as she's with Sam, I'll just wait…"

He doesn't have to wait long, a few minutes later Sam and Janet come out of the room at the far end of the infirmary. Sam has an odd expression on her face and Janet immediately pulls Daniel into her office so Sam and I can talk.

"Well?" I look up at her, confused by her odd expression. "Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? No…" it takes a moment to realize that Sam's barely holding back laughter. Hysterical laughter as I'll soon find out. "Jack, I uhm, I…well, there wasn't exactly a _problem_ per say…"

"So what is it?"

"Twins."

"What?!"

She lets out a crazy sort of giggle. "Twins. It's not going to be premature. I'm so big because I'm going to have twins."

I just gape at her. Now that was the last thing I was expecting. "I guess we're going to have to get another crib for the nursery, huh?"

"That shouldn't be too hard," Sam smiles and leans forward, kissing me lightly. I wrap my arms around her, becoming so lost in another kiss that I nearly jump out of my skin when someone clears his throat. That someone, of course, being Danny-boy.

"So." Daniel folds his arms over his chest. "You two going to tell me the good news? Janet's lips are sealed."

Doc Fraiser just shakes her head, smiling and muttering something that sounds like "Doctor Patient confidentiality."

"Twins, Danny!" I say cheerfully, wrapping an arm around my dearly beloved Sam. "Two little O'Neill-Carter children running around."

"Oh, wonderful." Daniel chuckles. "So one of them is going to be a super genius like Sam, and the other is going to be…" he seems to be searching for the right word, but finishes lamely, "…Jack."

"Oh thanks, Danny," I scowl at him. "You'd just better be glad there are ladies present."

Both Fraiser and Sam let out snorts of laughter.


	6. Mom

A/N – And now for the sappy, shippy, cute and fluffy ending! Cus you know I've always got to have those! And yeah, finished this at 11:00 at night, so I'm not making any promises about quality ;P

* * *

Chapter 6: Mom

"SG-1 you've got a hostile headed your way!"

The voice shatters through what would have been a relatively peaceful morning, and I find myself sitting bolt upright, instantly alert. A split second later a tiny brown haired figure comes charging into the room, leaping onto the bed and tackling me.

"I am a goa'uld and you will obey me!" Benjamin is working hard not to start giggling.

Next to me Jack rolls over, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "Oh no, it would appear that the goa'uld Nerf has returned!"

I look up just in time to see another small figure appear in the doorway. She lets out a delighted shriek. "Don't worry, Colonel Carter, I'll save you!" And with that Dahlia comes charging over as well, grabbing her brother and trying to pull him off of me. All they end up doing, however is land in a heap on top of Jack, who lets out a grunt of protest.

"Hey, watch it!" he says, sitting up. "You've got to be careful with your old man."

"Dad, you're a General." Ben says, as though that makes everything alright.

Dahlia turns to me suddenly, her attack on the "goa'uld Nerf" instantly forgotten. "Oh, Mom, mom!"

"What what?!" I can't help but laugh.

"Tell Ben that you were too once stuck in a computer!"

I blink. "Who told you that?"

"Uncle Danny. But Ben doesn't believe me." Dahlia's folded her arms, and Ben is giving her a look so reminiscent of Jack that I start grinning.

"I was actually. And my body was possessed by the being that made the computer." Here I turn and give Jack a look of mock anger. "Your father shot me twice with a zat gun."

The kids turn to Jack, mouths hanging open. "You shot Mom?!?"

"It wasn't the first time," Jack argues. "And she wasn't even in her body at the time. The thing possessing her absorbed the shock."

It only strikes me then how ridiculous this statement sounds, and how only children raised in the company of SG-1 would ever be used to hearing about their parents being possessed by alien entities. I remember growing up how _my_ bedtime stories usually consisted of princes and dragons, but Ben and Dahlia have grown up hearing tales of their parents and Uncles Danny and Teal'c saving the galaxy. Not many kids can boast to that.

And not many kids can boast to having a grandfather who shares his body with an alien symbiot. I have to remind them not to talk too much when we go visit Mark and his kids.

At first Hammond was reluctant that we should tell the kids about what we do, but everyone soon realized what an impossible task this would be, especially with Teal'c being so smitten with the both of them.

I can't even begin to describe how adorable it was to see the huge Jaffa sitting in the chair in my hospital room with Dahlia's tiny form cradled in his massive arms. Bra'tac came as well, to give the kids a blessing so they'll grow up strong and intelligent.

"Just like their parents," he'd remarked.

It turned out to be a strange, yet wonderful time. Janet had said I'd be better off in a normal hospital rather than the base infirmary, especially since the hospital was closer to my house. But that meant anyone who wanted to come visit had to dress in civvies.

At one point I remember looking around and realizing there were no less than four aliens in my hospital room, and the nurse who was bringing in chairs for everybody didn't even realize it. Bra'tac, Teal'c, Cassie and Selmak. All of them fitted in perfectly, at least as long as they kept their mouth's shut and in the case of the two Jaffa, their hats pulled low.

"Mom?" Ben looks up at me, his eyes wide.

"I'm ok," I assure him. "Just thinking."

" 'Bout what?"

"Lots of things." I look over at Jack and we exchange a smile. "Mostly how happy I am to have all you." Jack leans over and gives me a light kiss, causing the two kids to make disgusted noises.

Jack pulls away. "Hey, I've had to kiss some pretty gross things in my time, and I'll have you know your mother isn't one of them."

* * *

I turn to check one of the screens of the machines that line the walls of my lab and discover, to my annoyance, that it's covered by a photo of Jack and the kids up at the cabin. Much as I love looking at my family, they don't belong taped over vital readouts.

"Vala!"

The young alien woman comes bouncing in. "What?"

"Were you messing around in here?" I ask, making a gesture that I've obviously picked up from Jack.

"Not messing around…you had a stack of photographs on your desk and I thought I'd organize them for you." She grins innocently at me. That grin that usually sends a chill down my spine because it means she's done something wrong. "Oh come on, your family's much more interesting to look at than the squiggly lines I covered up."

"Aren't you supposed to be in Atlantis with Daniel?"

Vala bites her lip thoughtfully. "Maybe. But I know where you're supposed to be; in the briefing room with General Landry."

"No…I'm…not…"

"Yes you are!" She sounds sickeningly cheerful as she grabs my shoulders and steers me towards the door. "You're supposed to be up there right now and if you're not I'm going to be in loads of trouble because - Oh, forget I said that, I wasn't supposed to tell you, anyway…"

She continues babbling like that all the way up to the briefing room and I'm so thoroughly annoyed by the time I open the door, that the mass cry of "happy birthday Sam!" doesn't quite sink in.

Then Teal'c gives me a hug, and it all hits me.

"Oh, come on Sam, don't tell me you forgot it was your birthday," Daniel says, shoving a plate with cake and ice cream into my hands.

"I didn't," I assure him. "It's just Jack and the kids were going to do something special for dinner, I didn't think you guys would do something too."

"Well, Colonel, you've worked here for over ten years, I think a birthday party is the least we can do." Landry flashes me a rare smile.

Everyone sits around for the next half hour, eating cake and reminiscing on fond memories, including my first mission back after my maternity leave, which was…interesting, to say the least.

"Ok now what we're going to do is ten reasons why Samantha Carter is the most amazing woman alive." This is Vala, perched in the middle of the table and drinking her fourth can of soda. "Daniel, you start."

Daniel turns to me, grinning. "You've had two kids with Jack and they're both perfectly normal."

I roll my eyes. "Haha."

"You manage to never lose your pants." Cam throws in, which earns him several odd looks from our co-workers until I explain the origins of that.

"I believe O'Neill would disagree with that statement." Teal'c adds quietly.

To this I throw my remaining cake at Teal'c, and we all soon learn just how proficient a Jaffa is in a food fight.

I don't know how I've done it, this life of mine. Two kids, a husband, a normal family despite the fact that I take the occasional trip across the galaxy. The world has changed. I've literally seen civilizations rise and fall since my first fateful trip through the stargate so long ago.

And it may sound corny, and I'm sure Jack would slap me for this, but looking around at my friends, looking around at my family and thinking about those waiting for me at home, I realize I'd do it all over again and not change a thing.


End file.
